Gimmicks Don't Honor God

Reverent and relevant … Can the modern church be both?

To be honest, I’m not sure. But I am sure that it saddens me greatly when I see the growing presumptuousness in today’s modern church in our corporate approach to the worship of God.

Take this past weekend as an example.

Unless someone was hiding under a proverbial rock this past Sunday, everyone knows it was what Americans commonly term, “Sunday Bowl Sunday.” And many churches across the nation tried to connect that current event to their worship service.

Now, granted, Jesus was very relevant in his teachings and obviously aware of the current events of His time. He was never shy about using realistic parables to get His point across to listeners. Nor was He afraid to mingle with unbelievers, with the single goal of saving them. No, Jesus did not pattycake to religion or turn a blind eye to sin. Ever.

So I just cannot picture Jesus carrying out some of the gospel gimmicks that American churches used this past weekend on February 11.

Here are just a couple of scenarios I read about:

1. At one church in Ohio, the sanctuary platform was covered with fake turf and other football stadium paraphernalia. Pastors and other church members entered “the field” with team jerseys, while a uniformed referee oversaw the official coin toss between two of the pastors. After winning the toss, one pastor kicked a Bible (yes, a real Bible) that was decorated to look like a football as part of the church’s “Super Bowl of Preaching” series. Later on, the Bible football was actually kicked again within the service as the other participants jumped on top of the Bible/football and tackled one another. Pastor Tome declared that viewers might be confused but promised that they would “experience God and church in a fresh new way.”
2. Singer, songwriter, and author Rachael Thompson Kimbler wrote of her experience in a church she and her young son had been visiting for a while. Even before the service, Kimbler had been deeply convicted by the Holy Spirit to pray for Taylor Swift and the growing demonic influences she perceived behind Swift’s lyrics and performances. Much to Thompson’s surprise, the pastor and his wife led the congregation in a pre-sermon trivia game centered on Taylor Swift, her life, her music, her boyfriend, etc. With open excitement and hype for the upcoming game, the pastors even played clips of Swift’s music between the trivia questions. With a completely broken heart, Kimbler picked up her son and left the church, never to return. As she exited, she began to question how the same congregants went so quickly from singing “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord” to Swifite lyrics. The Holy Spirit immediately spoke Matthew 15:8 to her spirit, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (NIV).

Now, nobody is a bigger sports fan than me. So I appreciate the fact that churches and ministries want to use Super Bowl Sunday (and other current events) as a tool to reach people who might never step foot in a church otherwise. I get that. And I applaud that scripturally mandated burden for souls.

But somehow, churches seem to be muddying the water of the gospel way too much these days by welcoming the world and apologetically accepting its sins into the sanctuary of a sinless Savior.

In fact, the message of redemption offered by that sinless Savior (named Jesus) to a lost and dying world is getting muddier than Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Florida, back in 2007, during Super Bowl 41, when the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Chicago Bears in the rainiest national football playoff ever.

So why not leave the Super Bowl shenanigans in the foyer, or invite community members to a Super Bowl party after the service? Or why not invite past and present Christian athletes and coaches from local, state, and national teams to give their testimonies about the biggest game-changer of all – Jesus Christ? I am certain that Fellowship of Christian Athletes is only one of many sports ministries that would gladly help find a player or coach to speak or even preach an entire Super Bowl Sunday sermon, centered completely on Jesus Christ.

Or better yet – why not just stick to the Bible? After all, God’s Word has always been more than enough, and it always will be. So why not simply preach Jesus and Him crucified, buried, and resurrected? For He alone is holy, and He alone can save us.  

And just in case a sports metaphor is needed, Jesus has already won the victory for us. We are the only ones who can mess up things from this point on. So preach Jesus!